Albuquerque Journal Endorses Ronchetti

It is debatable these days whether a newspaper's endorsement carries any weight anymore. But, when one is a challenger to an incumbent, any help is important.

Republican candidate for governor Mark Ronchetti has been endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal.

Their endorsement begins with:

New Mexico is at a crossroads.

Violent crime is harming, traumatizing and quite literally killing too many New Mexicans. Property crime, paired with the national economic downturn and pandemic closures, continues to hurt residents and business owners financially. Not enough of the record billion-dollar revenues from oil and gas has been invested in lasting infrastructure that will improve lives for decades to come. And four years into her administration, our governor’s promised “education moonshot” has yet to launch as our children, especially our minority and low-income children, fall further and further behind.

We simply cannot afford four more years of the same.

And so in this gubernatorial campaign the Journal is endorsing Mark Ronchetti, a Republican political neophyte with zero management experience, rather than Democratic incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has — along with progressive lawmakers — aggressively increased the state’s spending with little accountability. (Libertarian Karen Bedonie has little name recognition, little funding and is not a viable candidate.)

They conclude with:

In what has become an increasingly blue state, Lujan Grisham has the clear advantage in this election. Recently she spoke of common-sense strategies that have not been in her repertoire — pushing for a statewide panhandling law, doubling down on supporting rebuttable presumption to keep the most dangerous defendants behind bars while awaiting trial, and mandating the school year be extended. If elected, we hope she follows through on these potential game changers.

If these had occurred during her first term, this endorsement might look very different. But they didn’t. And so we ask: Are we better off than we were four years ago? Do we want four more years of the same?

We are not and do not. The Journal endorses Republican Mark Ronchetti for governor.

To read the full endorsement, go here.